Sleeping Hermione
by tiedwithribbons
Summary: A retelling of Sleeping Beauty. A princess is cursed at birth to prick her finger and sleep until awakened by a prince's kiss.


SLEEPING HERMIONE

Once upon a long-ago time, in a faraway kingdom, there lived a king and queen. They were good and kindly rulers, and were deeply loved in all their kingdom, but for all of their wealth and prosperity, they were saddened. For while they loved each other very much, they had not been blessed with children. It was not for lack of trying-indeed, they had tried everything-but try as they might, not one child could they conceive.

Everytime the queen saw a couple with a child, she would sigh as though her heart would shatter, and she would say "Oh, if only I could have a child of my own, I would invite every fairy in the kingdom to a feast in its honour. Not one would I leave out." Then she would let out a deeper sigh and say, "But alas, such a thing seems destined not to happen."

Then, one night, while the queen slept, she had a most unusual dream. In the dream, she found herself walking through a beautiful green forest. The sun shone down, the birds sang, and the animals came to her as though they were her tamed pets, even allowing her to pet them. Then, to her surprise, a small, glowing orb appeared before her. Her surprise grew when it spoke to her in a voice that resembled the tinkling of silver bells: _"If you truly wish to be blessed with a child, Your Majesty, I will help you. But first, you must agree to keep the promise you have so often made."_

The queen gasped. To be blessed with a child? Her fondest wish granted? She did not hesitate to answer. "Yes! Yes! I promise!"

_"Good. Then follow me."_

The orb floated through the trees, guiding the queen, until they came to a small clearing, at the centre of which stood a well.

"What must I do?" asked the queen, turning to the orb. As she did so, however, the orb's light grew brighter, filling the clearing with a glow so bright she had to shield her eyes. A few seconds later, the glow faded to reveal a young red-haired girl, clad in a dress of soft white muslin, with golden slippers on her feet and a crown of roses on her head. Out of her back sprouted two silvery wings, and in her hand she held a golden wand.

The queen gasped, for this was the fairy Virginia-or Ginny, as she was more commonly known-a fairy who possessed powerful magic, and would grant any wish made by a good-hearted soul. Immediately, the queen dropped to her knees and bowed her head.

" Bow not before me, my queen, but listen to what I say. To gain your wish, you must drink from this well. When you have done that, you will be blessed with the child you have yearned for. But remember, you have made a promise, and you MUST keep it."

"I will remember." promised the queen.

"Excellent. Until we meet again, farewell." And with that, Ginny disappeared.

The queen stood stunned for a moment, then she walked to the well and drew up the bucket. Taking a small cup that stood on the edge of the well, she dipped it into the water and drank deeply. The moment she did so, however, she was awakened from her slumber by the sunlight shining onto her face. When she informed her husband of her dream, he sighed and said, "A most hopeful dream, indeed, but I would not hope too much. For we have tried for years with no success, and we are both getting on in years, so I cannot see how one dream will change anything."

Nevertheless, three months later, the queen started to feel nauseous in the mornings, and her clothes began to tighten around the middle. The healers were stunned when they examined her, but not as stunned as the king when they informed him that, after all their years of hoping, the queen had finally fallen pregnant.

Six more months passed, and the queen gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, whom she named Hermione. A magificent feast was arranged in honour of the new princess, and keeping to her word, the queen invited every fairy in the kingdom. There were seven in all, and they vowed to bless the princess as thanks.

After the ceremonies of the christening were over, all the company returned to the king's castle, to begin the great feast. There was placed before every guest a magnificent golden plate, a spoon, knife, and fork, all of pure gold set with diamonds and rubies, and a beautiful cup of white gold set with sapphires. But as they were all sitting down at the table, there came in the middle of the hall a great puff of purple smoke. When it had abated, the hearts of every guest froze with fear, for there stood the powerful fairy Bellatrix.

Bellatrix was a fairy who wielded powerful black magic, and she was not one to forgive or forget a percieved insult. She had not been invited to the feast because she had not been seen for 30 years, and had been believed to be dead. But now she stood in the centre of the hall, her eyes glittering with anger.

"So!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with fury. "You organised a magnificent feast but did not invite me! Me! The most powerful fairy in the land! Am I not good enough for your halls and finery?"

The king was terrified, but he tried not to show it. "I am terribly sorry you have been offended, but as you have not been seen for many a year, we did not know whether you were still living. But come! Now that you are here, join the feast." And he ordered a place to be set for her.

Bellatrix took her place at the table, but all through the meal she muttered under her breath at the insult they had given her. It so happened that she was seated next to Ginny, who heard her and guessed that she was planning something. She knew that she could not just accuse Bellatrix without proof, for a bad temper was only to be expected when you were not invited to attend a celebration, but she had an idea as to how to prove her suspicions.

When the feast was over, Ginny rose to her feet and clapped her hands for attention. "Your Majesties, it is time to present the blessings. Let us all proceed to the crib."

The guests approached the crib where Hermione slept. The fairies stepped forward to present their blessings, except for Ginny, as she hid herself behind the hangings, so that she might speak last, and repair, as much as she could, any evil which Bellatrix might intend. Not noticing her absence, the other fairies began to give their gifts to the Princess. The first gave her the gift of great beauty; the second vast intelligence; the third a wonderful grace in everything she did; the fourth a good, kind heart; the fifth a beautiful singing voice and the sixth the ability to play all kinds of music to the utmost perfection.

When it came to Bellatrix's turn, however, she pointed her hand and said, "When this child turns 17, she shall prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die of the wound!"

All the guests were horrified at this terrible gift, so much so that they sat frozen in their seats, and thus nobody stopped Bellatrix from leaving.

At this very instant, Ginny stepped out from behind the hangings. "Alas, O Queen, you have not fufilled your promise in its entirety. But as you could not have known that Bellatrix lived, I will help you. I cannot remove this spell, for Bellatrix's power exceeds my own, but I can change it. The Princess shall indeed prick her finger, but, instead of dying, she shall only fall into a deep sleep, that will last a hundred years, until she is awoken by a prince's kiss."

In spite of this promise, the king was determined that Bellatrix's curse would not come to pass, so he ordered every spinning wheel to be burnt, and that no-one was ever to spin again. This caused many a great complaint, for many of the subjects relied on their spinning wheels to earn a living, but they were pacified when they were rewarded for their actions by being presented with a bag of gold. But although these precautions were taken, the dark prophecy could not be undone, and Bellatrix was determined that it would come to pass.

Many years passed, and Hermione slowly grew into a beautiful child, with intelligence, grace, a kind heart, a beautiful voice and the ability to play many instruments. On the day of her seventeenth birthday, she was walking in the garden, when she saw a door in the wall, a door she had never seen before. Her curiosity awoken, she opened it and saw that inside stood a winding staircase. She climbed the many steps to the top, where she found another door, from behind which she heard a perculiar whirring noise.

A small voice in her head told her to turn back, but as she turned to do so, the door opened and a grey-haired old woman, dressed in peasant clothing, poked her head out.

"Why, hello there, my dear child! I have just baked a cake! Stay awhile and share it with me."

"Certainly, good madam." said Hermione, for she did not wish to seem rude. Entering the room, she accepted the small seat that was offered to her, and while the old woman bustled about making tea, she looked around the room.

The small room was very plain, with simple white walls and very little furniture. There were only two chairs, a bed, a small table and a cupboard in which Hermione supposed to be filled with food, clothes and other personal items. Then a strange object in the middle of the room caught her eye. It was a spinning wheel, but due to her father's proclaimation, Hermione had never seen one before. "Excuse me, good madam, but what is this?" she asked.

Unnoticed by Hermione, an evil gleam appeared in the old woman's eye. "Why, my dear child, it's a spinning wheel! Feel free to take a closer look."

Hermione did so, and with her curiousity satisfied, she turned to resume her seat. But as she did so, she stumbled and threw out her hand to steady herself. As she did so, her hand touched the spinning wheel, and she pricked her finger. With a cry, she fell to the ground as though dead. With a cold, cruel laugh, the old woman raised her hands and shed her disguise, revealing herself to be Bellatrix. "Sleep, young fool, but your prince will never awaken you!"

When Hermione's absence was noticed, all the castle searched for her. At first, they had no luck, until a servant noticed the door in the wall, it having been left ajar. Climbing the winding staircase, he found Hermione in the small room (Bellatrix having fled). Sadly, he carried her to her parents, who were dismayed at what had happened to their daughter. But remembering Ginny's blessing at the christening, they ordered that Hermione be placed in her chambers, arrayed in her finest clothes, and that she not be disturbed.

When Ginny heard what had happened, she knew that if Hermione awoke alone, she would be worried and frightened. So, arriving at the castle in her golden chariot pulled by a dragon, Ginny touched with her wand everyone in the castle, from the King and Queen, to the castle guards; and not only people, but all of the animals, from the horses in the stables to the great dogs in the courtyard. Upon her touching them they all fell asleep, so as not to awake before Hermione.

Next, Ginny caused to grow around the castle a vast number of bushes and brambles, all entwining with each other, so that nothing could be seen but the very top of the towers.

Years passed, as years do, and when a hundred years had passed, it so happened that Ronald, the prince of a neighbouring kingdom, rode through the kingdom forest, having gotten lost on a hunting trip. When he saw the towers of the castle, he was very curious as to who lived there. When he finally emerged onto a path, he saw a man standing near the vast expanse of brambles.

"Excuse me, kind sir, but do you know who lives in this old castle?"

"Certainly, Your Royal Highness. I have heard that there is, in this castle, a princess, the most beautiful that has ever been seen, and that she must sleep for a hundred years, until the kiss of a handsome prince awakens her. But I personally do not believe it, for many princes have tried to pass through the bramble barrier, and all have had to give up."

Upon hearing that, Ron felt struck by pangs of love, although he could not say why, and he resolved to fight his way through the brambles and to awaken the princess. He turned back to the man, only to discover that he had disappeared. For a moment, he thought he saw a gleam of white light out of the corner of his eye, but the thought of the princess in the castle cleared all other thoughts from his mind.

Approaching the brambles, he drew his sword, but to his surprise, the minute he did so, they withered and died, leaving a clear path to the castle. However, he was not the sort to question a good thing, so he continued on his way.

He came to a spacious courtyard, where he saw that there was nothing to be seen but stretched-out bodies of men and animals, all in a deep slumber. Curious, he approached a guard, and shook his shoulder. The guard stirred slightly, but then resumed his slumber.

Ron walked on, and everywhere he came to, it was the same result-every gentleman, lady and animal lay in a deep slumber. At last he came to a beautiful chamber, gilded with gold and with velvet furnishings. Then he felt his heartbeat quicken, for in the centre of the room there was a bed, with the curtains open. And on the bed, there lay the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life. Struck with love, he approached the bed and placed a loving kiss on her lips.

And now, the enchantment finally at an end, the Princess awoke, and when she saw Ron, smiled softly.

At that same moment, the rest of the castle awoke and resumed their business, although the cooks were surprised to see that the great kitchen fires had gone out. The rest of the court were confused as to what had happened, but when Hermione appeared with Ron, everything at once fell into place.

After a great feast to celebrate the princess's awakening, Ron and Hermione were married in regal splendor. Upon hearing this, the dark fairy Bellatrix was absolutely furious, and after a thorough study of her tomes of black magic, attempted to disrupt the ceremony by summoning the full power of the storm. But although her powers were great, they were not powerful enough to control the weather, and instead of disrupting the wedding, the storm ignored her orders and turned its force upon her own palace, causing it to crumble, and crushing her to death beneath a rockslide as she tried to flee.

Thus it was that the sleeping princess Hermione married the noble prince Ron, and when it was time for them to take the throne, they ruled with such goodness and grace that they were remembered for many long years.

And so, everyone lived happily ever after.

THE END


End file.
